The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-02-20

~-ane and the Cuckoo-Lcgend of the
cbakva-Lost Money.
o.,,,orv interesting quotations from the
.,.r fo,, of British Birds tempt me tel Of
curious sulerSttionS current in India
.l.-ls lean only mention few OF
ro.e that come 30 my mind az the
II may be mentioned, however,
I.....,..,o Indian legends md SAYINGS about
.'i.c ,I De found in the pages Of the "Ilin-
,...ori English Dictionary" by DR. Fallon,
n,,r,y man. European or native, who, 50
@'-o.I am aware, ever attempted TO collect
.rc.. stories and sayings.
rr,ri, MS elsewhere the common owl is a
,t--ofiU omen; but white species is held
~ tf.h esteem by the Hndoos. The white
".Ira'way, supposed TO bring good luck
,..,si+ +, held sacred to the goddess Of pros
....,- and the people are pleased when II
.l. Us most i'm their houses. I'm the coun
.--.ts., birds often establish their quarter.
,bo darkest hooks and corners of ole
h,,,s> breeding there generally twice yeal
- inducing five or six young ones at
g.. and all their Screeching and shrieking
.vlr-ed for luck's sake. 1t is considered
--.st Good fortune 10 get a glimpse of a
-rfr InI IN inc flAN illilHs h' NAON i'fllN
,bo same evil reputation in India as in other
oq,n.r.cs: lis cry thrice repeated being
4hor-lt sure token Of death. But in some
..-4s "a crow or raven cawing only once on
.b.1oofof Young woman is held as a sign
,b,. her lover IS coming 10 meet her The
,,.,,o ~ the bat is never uttered at night by
tpo common people. the belief being that the
,,,,sror would soon lose all his property.
curious legend about the chakwa, or
Rr.bmini duck. is found all over India. For
como irdiscretion two lovers were turned into
pr,tmiDi ducks and condemned 10 pass the
,;-bt apart from each other on the opposite
torts ~ a river. All night long each asks in
as -urn II il shall Join its mate, and the an
ever is ALWAYS No. "Chakwa, shall Gomez
lVo chakwin "Chakwi, shall | comer
.,No chakwar The chakor, or Indian red
iogged partridge which is found all over the
Him,lavas the hen lays from ten TO fif-
teen egysl is said 10 be enamored Of the moon
and 10 eat fire at the full mOOn-pOSsiby
from the fact Of its seeming 20 hover about
the moon. The appearance Of the chatak,
small bird. is held TO presage a good shower
of rain. the bird living only on rain drops
and always crying for them.
The peacock is said 70 scream and dance
with low M the sound Of thunder, and he
Chances. dances on: when he looks down he
weeps anon" lat the sight of his ugly feet,
they saw The peacock is credited with
strong thievish propensity, as appears from
this saving: The deer, the monkey, the
pqtridge. and the peacock rob the field OF Its
store ANYTHING that betrays itself is likened
IN aapeacock i'm the thiers house, saying
founded on the story Of a peacock which
swallowed gold necklace brought home by
atbef This bird is sacred to the Rindu god
ofbasdtv, who is represented as riding on it.
The kite the hawk and the vulture are all
regarded rs very unlucky birds The screech-
ior Of the first brings serious misfortune, the
sight of the second famine and oppression,
and the approach of the third death. By
vbirling kite round the head Of a Moslem
child on a Tuesday or Saturday and then let
ting it 20 great blessings are insured to the
little one F0wlors trade on this superstition.
Kites sometimes carry Off gold ornaments;
and Nobammedan women say the reason Is
because Tn. young kites will not open their
eyes tin some gold is placed in the nest; hence
the saying THE philosophers stone is IN the
kites nests The half mythical garuda,
kind Of eagle sometimes called "adiutant,"
is the mortal enemy Of snakes. The legend
goes that the mother Of garuda quarreled
with her sister, who was the mother OF the
snakes. respecting the color Of the hole that
was produced at tho chuining OF the ocean;
and since that time there has been constant
enmity between their descendants. On the
occasion of garudas marriage, the serpents
Q &C &. Iran
who might destroy them. made fierce attack
ON him. but he slew them all save one, which
DE has since worn as an ornament around his
neck. To this day superstitious Hndoos re
peat The name Of garuda three times when
walking in the fields and going to sleep at
night. as q safeguard against snakes.
The crane is considered to be the most cum
ming of all birds 1t stations itself quietly by
"a pool, apparently absorbed in meditation
TILT sees O. fish 20 dart upon So the word
crane has become synonymous with the
"hypo.rte traitor. etc - i'm Sanslrit and the
languages derived from it. A crane is said
TO have betrayed the hiding place of one Of
Che Pandaya brothers, whose adventures are
described In the Sanslrit epic Mahabharata.
The pigeon is thought to be suspicious.
Pigeons are carefully reared in houses, which
they are believed TO preserve from decay.
The dove is looked upon as a harbinger Of
good luck The sight of pair of doves 10y
young married lady whose husband is away
from home means that he will come back to
her soon.
There is woman's saying that the cuckoot
note heard on the right is an excellent omen:
and yet the cuckoo is held TO be an unlucky
bird in most parts of India The bird papiya
OF the parrot species, is said TO cry my eye
gong from the legend that once man
seeing many wicked deeds done before
lseyes, died uttering these words, and was
transformed into the bird. Superstitious
people are afraid TO do anything wrong be-
ioro a papiya, lest it should betray them.
One little bird bears the curious designation
OF tho bird Of the lost money; because it
seem, % utter in low voice something that
means oh have you kept, or have 1 kept
Nl There is a tradition that its first ances
tois were a man and wife who, having lost all
1ner wealth, died heart broken and were
transformed into these birds The country